How can I be sure that my borderless prints are oriented the way I want from the plugin?

Due to a rather nasty interface oversight in the iPF Photoshop plugin, (still present at the time of writing with plugin version 2.03) it is very easy to mistakenly have a borderless print end up massively too large or much too small by confusing the output orientation in the plugin.

Therefore, when printing an image with a 3:1 aspect ratio and intending the output image to measure 17" x 5.6" with the roll width used for the long edge of the image, it is all too easy to end up with a massive print of 17" x 51" with the roll width used for the short edge of the image.

Normally, switching between landscape and portrait orientation in the plugin alters the preview panel, affording the user a reasonable indication as to how the image will be placed on the paper, as described here.

However, when borderless printing is enabled, the preview panel becomes all but useless, as it simply shows the image in its original orientation with no paper borders or indication of roll direction in the preview. Switching between portrait and landscape output mode makes (almost) no difference to the preview shown.

Fear not, all is not lost. When borderless printing is enabled, a second indication of the output print size becomes available on the Page Layout tab in the Enlarged/Reduced Printing control group.

To ensure that your image will not be printed the wrong way around and end up far too large or far too small, keep a close eye on this size readout. If you expect your image to have its long edge printed across the roll, ensure that the largest dimension given does not exceed the width of the roll. Alternatively, if you want your print to be as large as possible, and have the short edge of the image printed across the roll, ensure that the smallest dimension given is (roughly) equivalent to the width of the paper.

The following images demonstrate this. Note that this print is destined for a 17" (431.8mm) wide roll.

In the above image, the portrait format image is being sent to the printer in landscape orientation. This instructs the printer to rotate the image, causing the long edge of the image to be printed across the width of the roll, resulting in a print of approximate dimensions 17" x 8.6".

This second image shows what happens when the same portrait format image is sent to the printer with portrait orientation specified. In this case, the printer places the short edge of the image across the width of the paper, resulting in a huge print measuring 17" x 33.5".